Olympic-sized city too big to grasp

The woman next to me at the Dongdan subway station pointed at the Olympics pass around my neck and asked where I was from.

"Ah, Canada," she said.

She was quiet for the next minute, then turned and said. "Lots of people in China -- too many."

She laughed. I smiled. Couldn't say any more than that.

It's one thing to read the statistic that 17.14 million people live in this city on China's northern plains. It is quite another to feel as if all of them are trying to push their way onto your subway car. That's when the sheer enormity of the place reaches up and grabs you by the throat. To put it in perspective, half of Canada's 33-million population lives in this city. They drive 3.3 million cars, ride 10 million bikes, and eat at 40,000 restaurants -- 20,000 more than New York City.

For a Canadian experiencing it all for the first time -- as I did recently on a steaming hot walking tour of downtown Beijing -- it is fascinating, exhilarating and overwhelming.

Just travelling from point A to point B is an adventure. From the media village in north Beijing, it took 30 minutes and 12 stops on the north-south Line 1 to get to Dongdan, where you can transfer to the east-west Line 5, the main line in the now-vast system.

It more or less follows underneath the city's most important boulevard, Chang'an Lie, which runs along the northern side of Tiananmen Square. It's also the city's busiest subway line, usually packed to the ceiling.

I was glad there were only two stops between Dongdan and Tiananmen East.

When the train doors open, any pretence of decorum disappears in a mad crush for a spot inside. At another stop, I saw a security guard pushing bodies in so the doors could close.

In the days before the Games, the government tried to be a benevolent Miss Manners, asking people to do things they are not much inclined to do, such as minding the queue. But the

Chinese just don't have it within them to stand in line.

The wow factor of Tiananmen Square, from the 15th-century Forbidden City to the north, to the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall to the south, is worth the effort. Like a lot of stuff here, it's bigger than life.

Security in Beijing, and especially around Tiananmen Square, has increased for the Olympics. Police, soldiers and barriers are everywhere. But if my first day was an indication, it hasn't deterred anyone. Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City were teeming with people, happily taking pictures.

By this time, my clothes were soaked. The temperature was in the high 30s C and the humidity felt like 200 per cent. People were resting anywhere they could find shade, fanning themselves with paper fans. The smog didn't help. Even with half the city's cars off the road, it hung like dirty gauze.

Sweat was dripping into my eyes. Maybe that's why my first experience with Beijing's street merchants turned out to be a failure. You can read all the travel books you want, but nothing prepares you for their aggressiveness.

"How about this fan? You need a fan on such a hot day."

"Look at these hats. "Just take a quick look."

The foreigner is obviously a softer touch than the hardened Chinese shopper. I was walking proof.

For the "I Love China" T-shirt at one stall, the woman asked for 65 yuan, about $9 Cdn. No, I shook my head, too much. I read you could sell them for $2. Then how much, she said, handing me a calculator. I typed in 40. She typed in 50. I typed 45. Deal. But, I asked, how much for two? She typed in 85. I agreed.

Not bad. It was about $12 Cdn. for both shirts. About a half-hour later I found out why the woman was smiling so broadly. On the Wangfuling pedestrian mall a subway stop away, I saw the same T-shirts for $2.

Wangfuling is one of the oldest shopping streets, a mix of old and new. All the big brands are there, along with tea and silk shops, and on the north side, old China remains alive in the Donghumen Night Market, known as Snack Street.

It's not for the weak of stomach. While there are vendors selling the chicken and beef skewers, there's also plenty of jaw-dropping stuff, such as snake, sea urchin, lamb penis, and sea horses.

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